Human Services, Labor, and Economic Development Committee 4/3/2026
The Human Services, Labor, and Economic Development Committee met on April 3, 2026, and voted 4–0 to recommend five Equitable Development Initiative Advisory Board appointments to full Council. The committee then received a briefing from the Domestic Workers Standards Board and Office of Labor Standards on the history of Seattle's 2018 Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the recent signing of Washington State HB 2355 (statewide domestic workers protections, effective July 1, 2027), and three proposed amendments to the local ordinance currently under development.
transcriptsummary31 speakers
9,090 words1,768 entries31 speakersx185499 video id
GOOD MORNING. IT IS 9: 36
A.M., FRIDAY APRIL 3rd, 2026. I
AM COUNCILMEMBER ALEXIS MERCEDES
RINCK CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE.
WILL THE CLERK PLEASE CALL THE
ROLEX
CHAIR RINCK. JOYCE VICE CHAIR
FOSTER. COUNCILMEMBER
HOLLINGSWORTH. COUNCILMEMBER
SAKA. CHAIR, THERE ARE FOUR
MEMBERS PRESENT.
THANK YOU. PLEASE LET THE
RECORD REFLECT THAT
COUNCILMEMBER JUAREZ IS EXCUSED.
WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO APPROVAL
OF TODAY'S AGENDA. IF THERE IS
NO OBJECTION THE AGENDA WILL BE
ADOPTED. HEARING NO OBJECTION,
THE AGENDA IS ADOPTED. WELCOME
COLLEAGUES. TO THE COMMITTEE
MEETING THIS MORNING. TODAY, WE
WILL HAVE A BRIEFING AND
DISCUSSION AND VOTE ON SEVERAL
REAPPOINTMENTS TO THE EQUITABLE
DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD AND
FOLLOWED BY THAT WE WILL HAVE A
BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION BY OUR
DOMESTIC WORKERS STANDARDS
BOARD. GIVEN TODAY'S TOPIC.
DOMESTIC WORKERS CLEAN HOMES,
LANDSCAPE TO SUPPORT ELDERS,
WORK THAT QUITE LITERALLY MAKES
ALL OTHER WORK POSSIBLE. ALL OF
THAT WHILE BEING WRITTEN OUT OF
THE VERY LABOR LAWS THAT WERE
SUPPOSED TO PROTECT WORKERS. AND
THAT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT. WHEN
THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT
PASSED IN 1938 DOMESTIC WORKERS,
FARMWORKERS AND HOME HEALTHCARE
WORKERS WERE DELIBERATELY
EXCLUDED. A CONCESSION TO
SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS
CARVING OUT THE JOBS DONE ALMOST
EXCLUSIVELY ENTIRELY BY BLACK
AND LATINO WORKERS AND THAT
SHAPED LABOR LAW IN THIS COUNTRY
FOR DECADES. BUT SEATTLE DECIDED
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. AND IN
JULY 2018 SEATTLE BECAME THE
FIRST CITY IN THE COUNTRY TO
PASS A DOMESTIC WORKERS BILL OF
RIGHTS. AND THANK YOU TO COUNSEL
MEMBER JUAREZ FOR HER WORK ON
THAT LEGISLATION. THIS
LEGISLATION WAS NOT JUST MINIMUM
WAGE PROTECTIONS BUT SOMETHING
MORE AMBITIOUS. A DOMESTIC
WORKERS STANDARDS BOARD.
WORKERS, EMPLOYERS AND COMMUNITY
REPRESENTATIVES AT A TABLE
TOGETHER WITH THE POWER TO
EFFECTIVELY ADVISE ON INDUSTRY
STANDARDS. THAT IS A NEW IDEA.
SEATTLE SAID THE PEOPLE THAT DO
THIS WORK SHOULD HAVE A VOICE IN
SHAPING THE CONDITIONS OF THAT
WORK. AND THAT'S WHAT THAT
BOARD IS. I MET SOME OF OUR
PANELISTS THAT WE WILL HEAR FROM
TODAY AT THE ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS
BILL OF RIGHTS JUST ABOUT TWO
YEARS AGO. REPRESENTATIVE
BREANNA THOMAS FROM THE 34th
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT HEALING
FROM WEST SEATTLE WHO HELPED
WRITE THE WORKER PROTECTIONS IN
THE CITY MODELED THE STATE
LEGISLATION AND HER WORK
ALONGSIDE SENATOR HAILING FROM
THE 37th DISTRICT WHO INTRODUCED
THE BILL LAST YEAR, THESE TWO
WORKED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS
TO GET IT DONE AND JUST LAST
MONTH GOVERNOR FERGUSON SIGNED
HOUSE BILL 2355 INTO LAW
ENSURING THAT NANNIES,
HOUSEKEEPERS, HOMECARE PROVIDERS
AND OTHER DOMESTIC WORKERS
ACROSS WASHINGTON STATE RECEIVE
FAIR PAY, WRITTEN AGREEMENTS,
PRIVACY PROTECTION, LEGAL
RESOURCES, RIGHTS, THEY HAVE
BEEN DENIED FOR DECADES. IT IS
THE 16th DOMESTIC WORKER
STANDARDS BILL OF RIGHTS PASSED
IN THE UNITED STATES. SO THIS
WORK THAT WE ARE GOING TO HEAR
FROM CONTRIBUTED TO THAT. EVERY
RECOMMENDATION THEY HAVE MADE,
EVERY CONVERSATION THAT
HAPPENED, THAT IS A PART OF WHAT
MADE THIS STATEWIDE BUILD NOT
JUST POSSIBLE BUT NECESSARY. NOW
FOR THE FIRST TIME HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF BOOKS ACROSS
WASHINGTON STATE HAVING STATE
LEVEL PROTECTIONS BUT A LOT IS
ONLY AS STRONG AS IMPLEMENTATION
AND THAT IS STILL IN THE WORK.
SO FOR AWARENESS FOR ALSO MY
COLLEAGUES AND THE PUBLIC,
DURING THE DOMESTIC WORKERS
BRIEFING PORTION FOR TODAY WE
WILL BE UTILIZING SPANISH
TRANSLATION SERVICES FROM ONE OF
OUR PANELISTS SO WE CAN FULLY
HAVE HER VOICE A PART OF THE
CONVERSATION. I ALSO WANT TO
NOTE FOR THE PUBLIC MY OFFICE
HAS BEEN COLLABORATING WITH THE
CITY OFFICE OF LABOR STANDARDS
WITH THE INTENT TO UPDATE OUR
LOCAL DOMESTIC WORKER STANDARD
ORDINANCE LEGISLATION AND TO
SUPPORT THIS NEXT WEEK I OFFICE
ALONGSIDE THE OFFICE OF LABOR
STANDARDS ARE COSPONSORING TWO
POLICY DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS TO
HEAR DIRECTLY FROM AFFECTED
DOMESTIC WORKERS ON WHAT THEIR
NEEDS ARE. THE FIRST IS ON
MONDAY APRIL 6th AND THE SECOND
IS ON WEDNESDAY APRIL 8th. BOTH
MEETINGS WILL BE 5:30 TO 7:30
AND TO SIGN UP PLEASE EMAIL
LABOR STANDARDS AT SEATTLE.GOV.
I AM NOW GOING TO OPEN THE
HYBRID PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
PUBLIC COMMENTS SHOULD RELATE TO
ITEMS ON TODAY'S AGENDA OR
WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THIS
COMMITTEE. HOW MANY SPEAKERS ARE
SIGNED UP FOR TODAY?
CURRENTLY WE HAVE ONE IN: CURRENTLY WE HAVE ONE IN
PERSON SPEAKER AND ZERO ONLINE.
THANK YOU. OUR ONE SPEAKER
WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES AND WE
WILL HAVE START WITH OUR IN
PERSON SPEAKER. WILL YOU PLEASE
READ THE PUBLIC ALMOND
INSTRUCTIONS?
THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
WILL BE MODERATED IN THE
FOLLOWING MANNER. UP TO 60
MINUTES, SPEAKERS WILL BE CALLED
IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY
REGISTERED. PLEASE BEGIN
SPEAKING BY STATING YOUR NAME
AND ITEM YOU ARE ADDRESSING. YOU
WILL HEAR A CHIME WHEN 10
SECONDS LEFT. THE PUBLIC COMMENT
PERIOD IS NOW OPEN AND WE WILL
BEGIN WITH THE FIRST SPEAKER ON
THE LIST.
THANK YOU CREEK. OUR FIRST
SPEAKER ON THE LIST IS ALEX
ZIMMERMAN.
15 TIMES CANDIDATE FOR
ELECTION. THE PRE
[preview truncated]
Summary
Seattle HSLED Committee Advances EDI Board Appointments, Hears Domestic Workers Standards Board Briefing on Ordinance Amendments and State Law
The Human Services, Labor, and Economic Development Committee met on April 3, 2026, and voted 4–0 to recommend five Equitable Development Initiative Advisory Board appointments to full Council. The committee then received a briefing from the Domestic Workers Standards Board and Office of Labor Standards on the history of Seattle's 2018 Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the recent signing of Washington State HB 2355 (statewide domestic workers protections, effective July 1, 2027), and three proposed amendments to the local ordinance currently under development.
Key points
What happened
Five EDI Advisory Board appointments voted out of committee 4–0; go to full Council April 14.
Three proposed amendments to the local Domestic Workers Ordinance: (1) mandate written agreements, (2) require employer records of hours worked, (3) anti-retaliation protections for workers taking time off.
Governor Ferguson signed HB 2355 on March 9, 2026 — Washington is now the 13th state with a domestic workers bill of rights, effective July 1, 2027.
Two public stakeholder input sessions on the proposed amendments: April 6 and April 8, 5:30–7:30 PM (RSVP: laborstandards@seattle.gov).
OLS enforcement is hampered by lack of written agreements and hour records; the proposed amendments directly address these gaps.
Paid time off expansion for domestic workers remains a long-term priority; OLS published two reports in late 2025 on options including a publicly managed fund.
Noted gap: no Asian American representation on the DWSB; limited outreach to Somali and Asian caregiver communities.
Board meetings now conducted in English, Spanish, and Ukrainian; required city board training now offered with Spanish interpretation.
OLS is building relationships with local consulates as a referral and outreach channel for immigrant domestic workers.
Seattle's local ordinance has no coverage threshold — broader than the new state law — and OLS intends to align both laws to take effect simultaneously where possible.